Jim Brown

Praise

“Jim Brown is heroic but no hero. Dave Zirin gives us an extraordinary life of fame, manhood and masculinity that is not always a compliment to its subject but is undeniably important. Last Man Standing confronts the three third rails of American Life—race, class and gender—through an American icon whose triumphs are matched only by his flaws.”—Howard Bryant, Author of The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism
 
“Dave Zirin incisively explores the fault lines of race, gender, masculinity, and celebrity while chronicling the career of an American legend. As athletes and women speak out against racial and sexual violence, Jim Brown: Last Man Standing provides compelling context for understanding the urgency of today’s activism.”—Barbara Smith, Black Feminist Author and Activist, Co-founder of the Combahee River Collective and Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
 
“In this deeply engrossing, bracingly honest book, Zirin reveals that ‘Jim Brown’ is far more than a mythic name, far more than one of the greatest athletes of all time.  This is no fawning homage. This is a sculpted work of truth, a quintessentially American story that will resonate today in a time of burgeoning social activism among athletes.”—Jonathan Coleman, Author of Long Way to Go: Black and White in America and coauthor (with Jerry West) of West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life
 
“Jim brown, the most fascinating, complex, and gifted athlete of my time, has finally gotten the powerful and graceful biography he deserves. Now I understand why he always took my breath away, in his presence or watching him play.”—Robert Lipsyte, author SportsWorld: An American Dreamland
 
“Jim Brown has been one of the most mercurial, headline-making figures atop the intersection of sports and activism for decades. Dave Zirin has shrewdly captured this man’s odyssey—and psyche—in this smart, timely, and fearless chronicle.”—Wil Haygood, Author of Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America
 
“Dave Zirin’s writing is, much like Jim Brown, tough, powerful, blunt and uncompromising. This book is the perfect match of writer and subject.”—Wright Thompson, Senior Writer at ESPN